Updater
What is Updater?
The Ask Toolbar and other applications are increasingly being bundled with programs; most notably freeware. It's usually installed during the installation of a program, and it's easy to miss the step where you can uncheck the Ask Toolbar option.
About (from Ask.com)
Ask Toolbar lets you perform a search from wherever you are on the Web. It's free to download and fits right in your browser. No matter what site you're visiting, simply go to the Ask Toolbar already in your browser, and type in your search. Additional features include map information, the latest headlines, financial s... Read more
Overview
The most used version is 1.2.2.23821, with over 98% of all installations currently using this version. Upon installation and setup, it defines an auto-start registry entry which makes this program run on each Windows boot for all user logins. The software is designed to connect to the Internet and adds a Windows Firewall exception in order to do so without being interfered with. The main program executable is Updater.exe. Typically most users end up uninstalling this just after a few days. The software installer includes 1 files and is usually about 1.53 MB (1,604,325 bytes). Updater.exe is the automatic update component of the software designed to download and apply new updates should new versions be released.
- Possible malware installed by this program
- Automatically starts with Windows
- Connects to a server over the Internet
- Typically distributed through a pay-per-install bundle
- The wisdom of the crowd agrees, you should remove it!
Warning, multiple anti-virus scanners have detected possible malware in Updater.
| Updater.exe (31b522014fc560c122cdfa72d47ca940) has been flagged by the following 2 scanners: |
| Anti-Virus software | Version | Detection |
| Baidu-International |
4.0.3.1486 |
PUA.Win32.AskToolbar.81 |
| ESET-NOD32 |
8.10201 |
a variant of Win32/Bundled.Toolbar.Ask.G |
Updater has been found to be bundled with 3rd party software. If you have not purposefully installed this, you should be safe uninstalling it.
Program details
URL: sp.ask.com/toolbar
Installation folder: C:\Program Files\ask.com\updater
Uninstaller: Updater\Updater.exe -uninstall
Estimated size: 1.53 MB
Files installed by Updater
| Program executable: | Updater.exe |
| Name: | Updater |
| Ask Updater |
| Path: | C:\Program Files\ask.com\updater\Updater.exe |
| MD5: | 1ca034e7feb38fb4f3484aec092c403f |
| Ask Updater runs in the background of Windows and automatically starts up when your PC boots. It checks for software udpates and automatically downloads and installs them if found.
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Updater.exe (by Ask) - Updater (Ask Updater)
Behaviors exhibited
Startup File (All Users Run)
- Updater.exe is loaded in the all users (HKLM) registry as a startup file name 'Updater.exe' which loads as "C:\Program Files\Ask.com\Updater\Updater.exe".
Windows Firewall Allowed Program
- Updater.exe is added as a firewall exception for 'C:\Program Files\Ask.com\Updater\Updater.exe'.
Network connections
- Updater.exe connects to 165.254.35.120 (port 80).
- Updater.exe connects to 63.116.243.51 (port 80).
- Updater.exe connects to a23-67-242-105.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com (23.67.242.105 port 80).
- Updater.exe connects to a23-67-242-107.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com (23.67.242.107 port 80).
- Updater.exe connects to a23-67-242-33.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com (23.67.242.33 port 80).
- Updater.exe connects to a23-67-242-40.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com (23.67.242.40 port 80).
- Updater.exe connects to a23-67-242-57.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com (23.67.242.57 port 80).
- Updater.exe connects to a23-67-250-91.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com (23.67.250.91 port 80).
Resource utilization averages
Show technical details
| Updater.exe |
| Memory: | 3.63 MB | |
| Total CPU: | 0.1111757247% | |
| Kernel CPU: | 0.05682382% | |
| User CPU: | 0.05435190% | |
| CPU cycles/sec: | 1,851,160 | |
| Switches/sec: | 4 | |
| I/O reads/min: | 167 Bytes | |
| I/O writes/min: | 62 Bytes | |
How do I remove Updater?
You can uninstall Updater from your computer by using the Add/Remove Program feature in the Window's Control Panel.
- On the Start menu (for Windows 8, right-click the screen's bottom-left corner), click Control Panel, and then, under Programs, do one of the following:
- Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall a Program.
- Windows XP: Click Add or Remove Programs.
- When you find the program Updater, click it, and then do one of the following:
- Windows Vista/7/8/10: Click Uninstall.
- Windows XP: Click the Remove or Change/Remove tab (to the right of the program).
- Follow the prompts. A progress bar shows you how long it will take to remove Updater.
- If for some reason uninstallation fails, please install Microsoft's uninstall fixer utility which will help fix problems with programs that can't be uninstalled at support.microsoft.com.
OS VERSIONS
Win XP 45%
Win 7 5%
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HOW IT STARTS
Automatically starts? Yes
(Found in the run registry)
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USER ACTIONS
 |
Uninstall it 79%
Keep it 21%
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Windows
Which Windows OS versions does it run on?
| Windows XP |
45.45% |
|
| Windows 7 |
27.27% |
|
| Windows 10 |
18.18% |
|
| Windows Vista |
9.09% |
|
Which OS releases does it run on? |
| Microsoft Windows XP |
42.86% |
|
| Windows 7 Professional |
9.52% |
|
| Windows 7 Ultimate |
9.52% |
|
| Windows 7 Home Premium |
9.52% |
|
| Windows 8 |
4.76% |
|
| Windows Vista Home Premiu... |
4.76% |
|
Geography
50.00% of installs come from the United States
Which countries install it?
| United States |
50.00% |
| Germany |
12.50% |
| United Kingdom |
6.25% |
| Hungary |
6.25% |
| Romania |
3.13% |
| Thailand |
3.13% |
| Brazil |
3.13% |
| Finland |
3.13% |
| Belgium |
3.13% |
| Lithuania |
3.13% |
| Portugal |
3.13% |
| Russia |
3.13% |
PC manufacturers
What PC manufacturers (OEMs) have it installed?
| Samsung |
23.53% |
|
| Dell |
17.65% |
|
| Toshiba |
17.65% |
|
| Lenovo |
11.76% |
|
| American Megatrends |
11.76% |
|
| Hewlett-Packard |
5.88% |
|
| GIGABYTE |
5.88% |
|
| Sahara |
5.88% |
|
Common models |
| TOSHIBA Satellite A110 |
6.25% |
|
| Samsung 300E4C/300E5C/300... |
6.25% |
|
| ECS A740GM-M |
6.25% |
|
| Dell Vostro 1520 |
6.25% |
|
| LENOVO 3493EQG |
6.25% |
|
| IBM 8183KGD |
6.25% |
|
About Ask.com
Ask focuses on search traffic through various methods, the number being installation of its toolbars through a lot of bundle and rebrand programs.
Publisher URL: www.ask.com